This project is passing far too quickly for my taste. Positive occasionally to a fault, I rarely dwell on the aspects of work that piss me off, so I know I was bound to fall in love with this project. But I really really mean it this time...I love working with Habitat down here. I love New Orleans. I love construction. I've even grown fond of our commute in ways because of the music time I can squeeze in before and after work. (Let me just fill in here, since I don't believe I've mentioned it yet: We were supposed to be put in a quaint Habitat for Humanity House for the duration of our time here, but a week before we arrived we found out the house hasn't been approved by the city yet, and we would be "temporarily" staying at a church 14 miles away. As you can assume, temporarily became permanent, and we've been living in a big multipurpose room, sleeping on air mattresses, walking down the street a block and a half for showers, and sharing the church with the preschool, AA, and the laypeople for almost a month now. I wanted a house, sure, but I cant complain about the laundry angels. :))
So anywho, long story short we only have FIVE FREAKING DAYS OF WORK LEFT here! Ridiculous. The student in me knows that the next step in grad school, but I must confess spending a year working with Habitat has never looked so appealing....
Update on our house: We have a roof! And we'll continue shingling next week!! Our house is looking more and more like a home every day, with OSB boards up on most of the interior walls, windows, a front porch, the whole shebang. And not to mention, due to events during lunchtime on Thursday, our house is now officially part of the neighborhood in my mind. It's a long story but suffice it to say that a babbling man promptly sat down on our porch, talking to himself, then proceeded to roll up a joint and smoke it. Right there in front of us. A rite of passage, if you will. :)
Well like I said, we leave in a week. Grr. Today I'm heading to a coffeeshop (first time in forever!! :)), then the Art Museum, then heading to somewhere in the French Quarter to watch the VIKES!
Love you miss you
kt
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
The city that care forgot.
Well I just have to accept the fact that I'm not making this blogging thang as much of a priority as I once was. I feel like an apology is in order but even that seems like more effort than I feel like giving. It's just been so natural to ease into the...get ready for it...Big Easy, as if the city just opens its arms and welcomes any stranger off the street. New Orleans is amazing! I've been to big cities, and the lights and the sounds and the smells are all the same. But that's where it stops. New Orleans has this essence about it that I've never seen replicated: Neon lights lining small, gridded cobblestone streets, street performers and live jazz on every block, the iconic fleur de lis stamped on every car, window, and flag in site. What other city has their own logo that permeates such a massive majority of its peoples' lives? It's fantastic.
My job is also fantastic. I'm out in the sun all day, hammering nails, installing walls, putting up roofing, etc. etc. etc. all for the cause of helping a family get a home! It's such a great project. Especially in this location. New Orleans is still greatly feeling the horrible effects of Hurricane Katrina, even though it's been four years since it hit. The neighborhood we're working in is a perfect example: Interspersed between the occasional house that HAS actually been restored, there are hundreds and hundreds of houses that are falling apart at the seams. Windows are boarded up, warning messages are written in spray paint: "Don't you DARE enter, mother [you-know-what]," and some houses look like they were never even returned to after the storm. If you look closely, you can see the watermarks from where the waters flooded all the way to the roof of some houses. In short, there are massive amounts of work left to do down here. And it's easy to become saddened by the fact that even though we are definitely working our asses off to build SOMETHING beautiful amidst the disrepair, how much will one house actually contribute to improving the whole problem? But that's an illogical approach, I know. One house at a time is the only way to go you know? One family at a time. I just wish there was more government assistance I guess, but that's another story. :)
Anyway, I'll put up pictures from here and the work site to give more of a visual. We also just found out today that...yes..we'll be in Wichita Falls, Texas for our next spike!!! It was our absolute last choice, like literally dead last, but still in Texas so it'll be alright. :) We'll be...drumroll please...HELPING TO FILE TAXES IN RURAL TEXAS!!!! Haha so random. But whatever, I need to learn about taxes someday right? And we'll be helping out people who really need to get their lives together, so it should be promising.
Well how are things with all of you?? I want updates. Personal life for me is all over the place right now. I'm doing everything I can to stay focused on the task at hand here, but my heart and mind for the most part are residing in Iowa. My most positive of thoughts are going that way. Love you guys.
Katie
My job is also fantastic. I'm out in the sun all day, hammering nails, installing walls, putting up roofing, etc. etc. etc. all for the cause of helping a family get a home! It's such a great project. Especially in this location. New Orleans is still greatly feeling the horrible effects of Hurricane Katrina, even though it's been four years since it hit. The neighborhood we're working in is a perfect example: Interspersed between the occasional house that HAS actually been restored, there are hundreds and hundreds of houses that are falling apart at the seams. Windows are boarded up, warning messages are written in spray paint: "Don't you DARE enter, mother [you-know-what]," and some houses look like they were never even returned to after the storm. If you look closely, you can see the watermarks from where the waters flooded all the way to the roof of some houses. In short, there are massive amounts of work left to do down here. And it's easy to become saddened by the fact that even though we are definitely working our asses off to build SOMETHING beautiful amidst the disrepair, how much will one house actually contribute to improving the whole problem? But that's an illogical approach, I know. One house at a time is the only way to go you know? One family at a time. I just wish there was more government assistance I guess, but that's another story. :)
Anyway, I'll put up pictures from here and the work site to give more of a visual. We also just found out today that...yes..we'll be in Wichita Falls, Texas for our next spike!!! It was our absolute last choice, like literally dead last, but still in Texas so it'll be alright. :) We'll be...drumroll please...HELPING TO FILE TAXES IN RURAL TEXAS!!!! Haha so random. But whatever, I need to learn about taxes someday right? And we'll be helping out people who really need to get their lives together, so it should be promising.
Well how are things with all of you?? I want updates. Personal life for me is all over the place right now. I'm doing everything I can to stay focused on the task at hand here, but my heart and mind for the most part are residing in Iowa. My most positive of thoughts are going that way. Love you guys.
Katie
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
MOUSE IN MY ROOM!!!
In related news I JUST SAW A MOUSE SCURRY ACROSS MY ROOM!!! :) I'm not killing it. Or tattling on it.
Monday, November 9, 2009
So much for keeping this updated.
Well a lot has happened since the last time I posted, that's for sure! For sake of preventing readers from dying of boredom, I won't recount every detail of the last two weeks. Let's just continue on as if this break never happened.
So I have my permanent team!!! It's so great. Last Thursday all the Team Leaders gathered all of us Sun Beams (what I like to call the members of Sun Unit :)) on the soccer field and taped obscure words on our backs, then directed us to figure out how we were connected. They let us mosey around the field for like ten minutes, utterly bewildered by the seeming lack of order in our words, before our business-only Unit Leader gathered us around and requested that we return to our rooms, there had been an incident. Well as many people assumed, but as I was oblivious to, it was all an act. The soccer field was a distraction for all 55 of us Sun Beams so the TLs could run into our dorm and set up the REAL system for the team revealing: A campus-wide scavenger hunt! It was awesome. The clues led us around campus for an hour and slowly but surely our teams were revealed to us. And my team is great! I got the TL that I wanted, and am on a permanent team with people who are going to be a blast to spend the next nine months or so with. I am closer to a few more than others, which is nothing but encouraging because now I'll have three-day road trips to get to know them. :) And we were told our first project....We're going to New Orleans!!!!! This is going to be amazing. After spending a week doing Katrina relief work in 2007, I swore I'd go back someday to pick up where I left off...and now I get to! Our cargo van is all packed up and we're almost all ready to go. I can;t wait to get this show on the road.
Along with the work we do as a team, every member of our team each has to assume a team role or two throughout the course of the year. I'll be using my experience in the Coe Admissions Office to recruit new members for the NCCC! I'll be able to go to colleges and high schools and talk to people about the program, so clearly up my alley.
I think I'll leave it at that for now. Keep ya posted!
kt
So I have my permanent team!!! It's so great. Last Thursday all the Team Leaders gathered all of us Sun Beams (what I like to call the members of Sun Unit :)) on the soccer field and taped obscure words on our backs, then directed us to figure out how we were connected. They let us mosey around the field for like ten minutes, utterly bewildered by the seeming lack of order in our words, before our business-only Unit Leader gathered us around and requested that we return to our rooms, there had been an incident. Well as many people assumed, but as I was oblivious to, it was all an act. The soccer field was a distraction for all 55 of us Sun Beams so the TLs could run into our dorm and set up the REAL system for the team revealing: A campus-wide scavenger hunt! It was awesome. The clues led us around campus for an hour and slowly but surely our teams were revealed to us. And my team is great! I got the TL that I wanted, and am on a permanent team with people who are going to be a blast to spend the next nine months or so with. I am closer to a few more than others, which is nothing but encouraging because now I'll have three-day road trips to get to know them. :) And we were told our first project....We're going to New Orleans!!!!! This is going to be amazing. After spending a week doing Katrina relief work in 2007, I swore I'd go back someday to pick up where I left off...and now I get to! Our cargo van is all packed up and we're almost all ready to go. I can;t wait to get this show on the road.
Along with the work we do as a team, every member of our team each has to assume a team role or two throughout the course of the year. I'll be using my experience in the Coe Admissions Office to recruit new members for the NCCC! I'll be able to go to colleges and high schools and talk to people about the program, so clearly up my alley.
I think I'll leave it at that for now. Keep ya posted!
kt
Monday, October 26, 2009
Allow yourself to become more of who you are.
Well hey!
So the last time I blogged was this weekend, and not a whole lot has gone down since then. Which is nice. I can keep these nice and sweet from time to time :) Today felt just so productive to me! We had our first baseline, to start off with, so let me explain that:
I'm beginning to pick up on the fact that while Americorps is obviously a program that recognizes the importance of helping others, it equally tends to emphasize the concept of personal growth. So to go along with that aim, we will have periodic baseline tests to track our personal physical improvements. We run a hilly 1.5 mile course and then count our sit-ups and push-ups for a minute. It's nothing big, but it will be nice to track over the year. They emphasize the absence of competition with each other and presence of competition with ourselves, which I love. So we did our first one of those today before lunch.
Then after lunch we had this three-hour long session with the campus counselor to sort of establish an emotionally safe environment within our unit. Naturally there were people who groaned throughout the whole thing, but I definitely found it to be extremely meaningful. I think it's important to not lose sight of why we're all here and what it means to be here. So bring on the occasional touchy-feely time :)
And tonight I played tennis then went to yoga! After only two sessions, I can already tell I'm really going to enjoy having yoga classes here. I just feel so full of love when they're over! A new habit? I think so :)
Well I hope everyone's having as excellent a day as I am! Much love!
kt
So the last time I blogged was this weekend, and not a whole lot has gone down since then. Which is nice. I can keep these nice and sweet from time to time :) Today felt just so productive to me! We had our first baseline, to start off with, so let me explain that:
I'm beginning to pick up on the fact that while Americorps is obviously a program that recognizes the importance of helping others, it equally tends to emphasize the concept of personal growth. So to go along with that aim, we will have periodic baseline tests to track our personal physical improvements. We run a hilly 1.5 mile course and then count our sit-ups and push-ups for a minute. It's nothing big, but it will be nice to track over the year. They emphasize the absence of competition with each other and presence of competition with ourselves, which I love. So we did our first one of those today before lunch.
Then after lunch we had this three-hour long session with the campus counselor to sort of establish an emotionally safe environment within our unit. Naturally there were people who groaned throughout the whole thing, but I definitely found it to be extremely meaningful. I think it's important to not lose sight of why we're all here and what it means to be here. So bring on the occasional touchy-feely time :)
And tonight I played tennis then went to yoga! After only two sessions, I can already tell I'm really going to enjoy having yoga classes here. I just feel so full of love when they're over! A new habit? I think so :)
Well I hope everyone's having as excellent a day as I am! Much love!
kt
Saturday, October 24, 2009
First few weeks!
Well alright. So I officially arrived here to the gorgeous Denver, Colorado ten days ago, and it could easily have been ten weeks ago. You know how it goes; it's just like freshman year of college again. We're all jam-packed into dorms (dorm, actually. Singular.) and all up in each others' business more than usual in attempts to "weed out the crazies," as my roommate Heather so eloquently puts it. It's remarkable how quickly we can rest on our assessments of one another, really. I mean it's not to say that people surprise us (as they always do) or that people don't change, but I can confidently say I have a good grasp on the majority of the people in my unit at the moment. And that's comforting. :) But let's back up.
I am part of an Americorps branch that usually employs about 1,100 people a year. (300,000 applied this year...abooyah. :)) At this Denver campus, I am amongst roughly 250 fellow Corps Members who are here to spend the next ten months working on service projects across the states of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas. We 250 Corps Members are divided into four units. I'm in the Sun Unit...obviously the best one. :) (We like to say, "Do work, Sun!") This first month is purely dedicated to training and team building, so we're basically spending every day with our unit and separated into teams that keep changing. After this month we'll be neatly divided into five permanent teams, but until then we've been moving around to get to know everyone else. Like I said, basically college all over again. To those who know me, you know that I thrive in environments where get-to-know-you games are plentiful...I'm basically a perpetual camp counselor. Haha I really can't turn it off! But at the same time, I am currently finding myself thrilled to not be away from home for the first time like a lot of the people I'm surrounded by at the moment. Unlike my first year at Coe, I'm not energetically seeking out new friends around every corner; while I'm pleased to meet every new face and hear every new story, I'm feeling quite content with the friend group I've settled comfortably into already. Does curiosity eventually just die off completely? Or am I just more relaxed? I've been wondering this from time to time.
But Denver is about the most breathtaking city I've been to. I love the downtown skyline, which is complemented expertly by the mountain range to the west of it. Our dining hall looks out onto the mountains, and I look forward to the sunsets out there every night. :) This is one of those places that makes me feel useful in my current job. The beauty here is the kind of stuff I want to help preserve. Who wouldn't want to volunteer to make America a better place once they've seen this place?? :)
As fun as it is to make new friends, explore the area for our favorite bars, and get lost downtown until we know it like the backs of our hands, my fellow CMs and I are itching to get to the grunt of our jobs here. We had our first campus-wide service project yesterday and IT WAS REMARKABLE. You know how whenever you volunteer in groups there are always the people who won't help at all, then the people who will help but will complain the whole time, then the people who will help but distract everyone else's focus, and THEN the small percentage of people who are consistently mindful of WHY they're there and WHAT their objective is? Well guess what? People who apply for Americorps are ALL the foruth type of people. We're ALL here to help and "get things done." ("Get things done" is the Americorps motto of sorts, and sounds utterly wimpy and ambiguous, if you ask me. Lol.) So it's just insane for me to be surrounded by ALL all-stars of volunteerism. Can you imagine how much 250 of us got done in six hours of work???? A lot. Apparently Americorps is constantly surprising non-profits with how freaking productive we are. It's something I'm really proud to say I'm a part of. :) And yesterday was great--we crowbarred and sledgehammered the crap out of old gardens to make room for new ones, wheelbarrowed pile after pile of dirt to add layers to a track that the Elementary School will enjoy by the end of the month, and mentored hundreds of 8th graders all the while. It was so awesome. I can't wait to get to my first project site.
Well I'm going to wrap this up for now...but welcome back to my blog! I'll keep you posted with new happenings here in gorgeous Colorado, and I'd love to get life updates from all of you too! :)
kt
I am part of an Americorps branch that usually employs about 1,100 people a year. (300,000 applied this year...abooyah. :)) At this Denver campus, I am amongst roughly 250 fellow Corps Members who are here to spend the next ten months working on service projects across the states of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas. We 250 Corps Members are divided into four units. I'm in the Sun Unit...obviously the best one. :) (We like to say, "Do work, Sun!") This first month is purely dedicated to training and team building, so we're basically spending every day with our unit and separated into teams that keep changing. After this month we'll be neatly divided into five permanent teams, but until then we've been moving around to get to know everyone else. Like I said, basically college all over again. To those who know me, you know that I thrive in environments where get-to-know-you games are plentiful...I'm basically a perpetual camp counselor. Haha I really can't turn it off! But at the same time, I am currently finding myself thrilled to not be away from home for the first time like a lot of the people I'm surrounded by at the moment. Unlike my first year at Coe, I'm not energetically seeking out new friends around every corner; while I'm pleased to meet every new face and hear every new story, I'm feeling quite content with the friend group I've settled comfortably into already. Does curiosity eventually just die off completely? Or am I just more relaxed? I've been wondering this from time to time.
But Denver is about the most breathtaking city I've been to. I love the downtown skyline, which is complemented expertly by the mountain range to the west of it. Our dining hall looks out onto the mountains, and I look forward to the sunsets out there every night. :) This is one of those places that makes me feel useful in my current job. The beauty here is the kind of stuff I want to help preserve. Who wouldn't want to volunteer to make America a better place once they've seen this place?? :)
As fun as it is to make new friends, explore the area for our favorite bars, and get lost downtown until we know it like the backs of our hands, my fellow CMs and I are itching to get to the grunt of our jobs here. We had our first campus-wide service project yesterday and IT WAS REMARKABLE. You know how whenever you volunteer in groups there are always the people who won't help at all, then the people who will help but will complain the whole time, then the people who will help but distract everyone else's focus, and THEN the small percentage of people who are consistently mindful of WHY they're there and WHAT their objective is? Well guess what? People who apply for Americorps are ALL the foruth type of people. We're ALL here to help and "get things done." ("Get things done" is the Americorps motto of sorts, and sounds utterly wimpy and ambiguous, if you ask me. Lol.) So it's just insane for me to be surrounded by ALL all-stars of volunteerism. Can you imagine how much 250 of us got done in six hours of work???? A lot. Apparently Americorps is constantly surprising non-profits with how freaking productive we are. It's something I'm really proud to say I'm a part of. :) And yesterday was great--we crowbarred and sledgehammered the crap out of old gardens to make room for new ones, wheelbarrowed pile after pile of dirt to add layers to a track that the Elementary School will enjoy by the end of the month, and mentored hundreds of 8th graders all the while. It was so awesome. I can't wait to get to my first project site.
Well I'm going to wrap this up for now...but welcome back to my blog! I'll keep you posted with new happenings here in gorgeous Colorado, and I'd love to get life updates from all of you too! :)
kt
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